The invention relates to an in-line roller skate exercise device for permitting opposed reciprocating motions of a user""s legs.
Numerous exercise apparatus which permit opposed reciprocating motions of a user""s legs, often to simulate cross-country skiing, have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,981 issued in 1984 to Norton; U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,194 issued 1985 to Haaheim; U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,077 issued 1987 to Stropkay; U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,121 issued 1990 to Haaheim; U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,276 issued 1990 to Feuer; and U.S. Pat. No. Des 358,436 issued 1995 to Piaget which teaches an arcuately tracked device.
However the apparatus taught by many of the above mentioned patents is relatively bulky, complex and expensive to manufacture and time consuming to assemble and disassemble.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,194 issued 1995, to the present applicant teaches an approach which is simpler in some respects in providing a platform on which in-line roller skates worn by a person can be rolled by the person in opposed reciprocating motions against the resistance of tie means attached adjacent the persons ankles and the platform thereby increasing the effort required.
However, the requirement to fasten and unfasten the tie means can be undesirably time consuming and fiddlesome.
It is an object of the invention to overcome the above mentioned disadvantage by providing an in-line roller skate exercise device for permitting opposed reciprocating motions of a user""s legs in a manner somewhat similar to cross-country skiing while providing a resistance to such motion while avoiding any fastening and unfastening steps.
It is another object of the invention to provide a device which is of relatively simple and compact construction, is easily stored in a condition immediately ready for use, does not require any assembly steps and can be manufactured economically by conventional mass production techniques.
According to the invention there is provided, an in-line roller skate exercise device comprising means providing a pair of channel section tracks extending in side by side relation for receiving a pair of in-line roller skates worn by a person, the tracks being arcuate, forming progressively elevated front and rear track ends so that respective in-line roller skates of a pair worn by a person can be rolled by the person in opposed reciprocating motions along said tracks; each track being of downwardly convergent channel section for engaging wheels of a respective roller skate with a wedging action providing frictional resistance to the motions of the roller skates thereby to increase substantially the effort of the person.
Preferably, each channel section is a groove of substantially V section. This facilitates accommodation of any progressive wear in the skate wheels.
In one embodiment, the track providing means comprise a pair of elongate stands molded from plastic material as a hollow shell with an open bottom whereby the stands can be stacked in nested condition, one inside another, facilitating compact storage and portability.
In another embodiment, the track providing means comprise a unitary stand molded in one piece from plastic material.
It is also preferred that the tracks are open-ended to permit free leg movement.